A long time ago, in a mountain village there lived a man named Chbra. He was a smart, cheerful, friendly person. Everyone in the village loved him and went to him for advice.
“And Chora also knew a lot about horses. That’s why they called him “horseman Chora.” He had three horses in his stable. One horse with white markings on all four legs, another horse with a star on its forehead, the third black - without a single mark.
Chora was childless. Both he and his wife were very sad about this.
– Who will be our support when we grow old? - they said.
And finally the long-awaited happiness came to them. They had a boy. Now that's it. their concerns were about their son. He grew up with fun and joy for his parents.
One day, when the boy was tending his father's sheep, robbers saw him. They grabbed him, gagged him, tied him up, threw him into the saddle and took him across fields, through meadows, over high mountains, far from his beloved father and mother. They took him away and sold him there to a rich man for a lot of money.
Chora and his wife knew no consolation after losing their long-awaited son. The wife was especially killed. Chora saddled his horses, did not get off the saddle, kept looking for his son. Wherever he visited, asked whomever he asked, and found no traces... But time passed, and then merchants arrived in that village. They liked Chora's horses.
- Sell us the horses! - they asked. - We'll give you whatever you want!
Smart Chora asks the merchants:
– Where do you go? Where do you go?
“We go everywhere, we go everywhere,” the merchants answer. And they named many cities and countries where they transport their goods...
Chora thought for a long time, and then decided: “These merchants travel everywhere, trade far... Let them take my horses. Maybe my son will meet them, recognize the horses and understand that it is I who am sending him a sign.”...
And he sold his three horses to merchants.
Soon the fairy tale will be told, but not soon the deed will be done. Chora's son grew up in a foreign land, became a shepherd, tending other people's sheep. One day he was tending a herd and saw a horse skull in the steppe. I took it. The skull in his hands and from his teeth realized that it was a fast horse. I remembered my father’s three horses, I remembered my father and mother, my native village, and I cried bitterly:
- Eh, skull, skull! You were, apparently, a dashing horse... And I was Chora’s favorite son...
A horseman in rich clothes rode past. He heard the boy's words and stopped:
-What are you crying about?
– I remembered my father and mother, I remembered my homeland. Three years ago I was kidnapped and sold into slavery by robbers.
-What did you say to the skull?
- He said: “You were once a dashing horse, and now only your bones turn white in the steppe... I was once the son of the horseman Chora, who taught people wisdom, and now... So they sold me into slavery.”
- How did you know that it was a good horse?
- I found out by my teeth. My father taught me this as a child.
- So, you can immediately recognize a frisky horse?
- I can tell you the difference without fail!
- Then come with me! I will make you my son. I'm Khan. You will live with me without knowing grief.
- My owner paid a lot of money for me. He’ll let me go, so I’ll go.
The khan galloped to that rich man, ransomed Chora’s son and took him to his place... How much or how much time has passed, he calls him and says:
“I have countless herds, a lot of gold and silver, but I cannot live without spoils.” I'm used to hunting for prey. I'm just unlucky! Every time everyone who goes with me is killed, and I return alone empty-handed... I think: it's all about the horse! If I have a good horse, I will return with rich booty.
The two of them set off to get a good horse. Whether they traveled a lot or not, how long they were on the road, who knows. We visited many villages, examined many herds... There are no such horses anywhere that Chora’s son would like.
Finally, somewhere in the mountains, near a river, they saw merchants at a halt. There are carts and three horses are tied to them: one has white marks on all four legs, another is a horse with a star on its forehead, the third is black without a single mark. When Chory’s son saw them, he trembled with joy - after all, his father’s horses! And he whispered to the khan:
– Don’t miss these horses! .
The merchants refused for a long time; they did not want to sell the horses. Nevertheless, the khan persuaded them and gave them a purse full of gold. They brought the handsome horses home to the khan.
Soon the khan called Chora’s son to him and ordered him:
- Get ready! Tomorrow we're going to get some loot... Now saddle up the horses and let's go test them.
“Khan,” answers Chora’s son, “the merchants looked after their horses poorly.” They have become weak and emaciated... You need to get them out first, and then you’ll go on a raid...
The khan did not like this, but did not argue. And Chora’s son follows his father’s horses, never takes his eyes off them, drives them to pasture himself, and takes them to bathe them himself. He understands that it was not in vain that his father sold his horses...
Three months later he said to the khan:
- Now let's go test new horses.
They brought the horses out into the expanse of the steppe. They sat on them in turn, testing which horse was faster and more resilient at a gallop. The white-legged horse and the horse with a star on its forehead overtook the black one. The khan took them for himself, and gave the vorrn one to Chora’s son.
“Get ready,” he ordered again. We'll go for some loot this week. We'll take away the herds from our neighbors and get gold!
Chora’s son remained silent, and as the week passed, he began to ask the khan:
- Let me go, khan, home to my father, to my mother. I have fulfilled your wish. I found good horses for you... But going after booty and robbing honest people is not in my heart.
Khan got angry:
- Ungrateful! - shouts. - I bought you. You are my slave! How dare you disobey?!
Then Chora’s son saddled his black horse and rode off. The khan saw this, mounted a white-legged horse, and rushed in pursuit. He had already caught up with Chora's son, but they drove into a narrow gorge, where the horses had to walk over stones. The white-footed horse began to lag behind. Then the khan mounted a horse with a star on his forehead and again chased Chora’s son. He's about to catch up with the black man. And Chora’s son took it and turned his black one straight towards the sunrise. And again the khan fell behind!
- Hey! – he shouted from afar. - Stop! I swear I won't do anything bad to you! Answer only two questions.
Chora's son stopped the black man. Khan came closer and asked:
- Why, when we tested the horses, did my horses overtake your black one? Why did the black one jump ahead of them now?
– When we tested the horses, it was in the steppe. In the steppe, the white-footed crow will leave the black one far behind. And when they were riding over the stones and you mounted the star-faced one, I let my horse ride into the sunrise. A star cannot resist the sun!
The khan turned home empty-handed, and Chora’s son moved on. Voronoi himself was on his way to the direction where their homeland was... Whether they traveled a lot, who knows... They finally arrived in their native village. It was a dark night. Before Chora’s son had time to jump to the ground, the black neighed loudly. Chora heard the voice of his raven.
“If we still have even a grain of happiness,” he says to his wife, “it’s our son who has returned!” Come out and have a look.
The mother ran out into the yard and saw her beloved son standing in front of her.
So the smart horseman Chora, having sold his horses, helped his son free himself from bondage. Since then, all three of them have lived together, without being separated.
We didn’t see everything we talked about, but you won’t see misfortune, misfortune and illness!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru